Yatra

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT YATRA - PAGE 3

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand BJP today questioned the rationale of the "haste" showed by the state government in starting the 'char dham' yatra when roads damaged in the last year's flash floods were "not repaired". BJP MP from Pauri and former state chief minister Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri accused Harish Rawat government of failing to conduct the yatra. "This year's yatra was not worth its name. Frequent suspensions, negligible number of people visiting the shrines don't qualify it to be called a yatra.

CHANDIGARH: To commemorate 300th year of 'Guruta Gaddi Diwas' (installation of Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib as Guru), a religious yatra which started from Nanded in Maharashtra on November 15 last year after covering more than 100 Indian cities will be reaching Chandigarh on Saturday. "In this regard, Shastras and other historical articles of tenth Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh from Takhat Sachkhand Sri Hazur Abchalnagar Sahib, Nanded, and from Lakhnor Sahib in Haryana's Ambala, will be displayed in specially decorated buses," media incharge of the yatra, M P S Chawla said.

DEHRADUN: With just a fortnight to go for the start of the annual Char Dham pilgrimage, Uttarakhand government is giving final touches to preparations for the yatra route to ensure a smooth and trouble-free journey for the devotees en route to the four Himalayan shrines. "Almost all major roads on the Char Dham route have been equipped with facilities and opened to traffic considering the proximity of the yatra season. The Rishikesh-Badrinath highway has been fully repaired," state Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar , who recently toured Kedar Valley on foot to review preparations for the yatra, told PTI. "A joint task force of Nehru Mountaineering Institute and Uttarakhand police personnel is making efforts on a war footing to build the pedestrian route between Bhimbali and Kedarnath," he said.

LUCKNOW/NEW DELHI: The UP government has disallowed the Vishwa Hindu Parishad from holding a religious procession to Ayodhya, as a preemptive measure against communal flare-up. Devotees from several parts of the country were expected to arrive in large numbers at Ayodhya, from August 25 to September 13, as part of VHP's proposed yatra of seers and saints, called the '84 Kosi Parikrama'. The yatra was to pass through the districts of Faizabad, Barabanki, Gonda, Ambdekarnagar, Basti and Bahraich.

AMETHI: Aam Aadmi Party today alleged that local officials "snatched" the tricolour during its 'Jhadu chalao-beiman bhagao yatra' in a village here, which was denied by the administration. "The local administration, including the Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Circle Officer (CO), of Amethi had snatched the tricolour at Thengha village during the "jhadu chalao-beiman bhagao yatra" under taken by AAP leader Kumar Vishwas," Pankaj Shukla, an AAP activist who is managing the yatra told PTI. The SDM R D Ram refuted the allegation and said they had received complaints about showing disrespect to the national flag, "so we have asked them not to use the flag in such a way. " "We have asked Vishwas and his supporters to seek prior permission for use of vehicle from the administration in the yatra as Section 144 was enforced here since February 15 for next 40 days," Ram told PTI. Ram also said that tomorrow AAP representatives have been asked to attend a meeting by the District Magistrate, where they would be briefed on what they can do and what they can not.

MUZAFFARNAGAR: Even as 1,700 supporters including top leaders were arrested in a massive crackdown by the UP administration to foil defiant VHP's yatra , a temporary jail on UP-Uttarakhand border remained vacant, police said. The temporary jail on UP-Uttarakhand border falling on Delhi-Haridwar National Highway , established for lodging activists, remained vacant here till yesterday, SHO Sushil Kumar Dubey said. Sadhus and activists from neighbouring Hardiwar district were anticipated to cross over in support of the yatra but no arrests were made there as nobody crossed the border, he said.

VARANASI: BJP Leader L K Advani today said he has initiated the yatra to generate confidence among the people "demoralised" by corruption in the country and that it was not aimed at projecting himself. "People ask me that this yatra is to project myself in a new form but I tell them that it has nothing to do with me or my party BJP...It's only to generate self confidence among the people, who are feeling demoralised due to rising corruption", Advani said here while addressing a rally.

LUCKNOW: Ahead of the VHP's march from Ayodhya on Sunday, the Faizabad administration on Saturday cracked down on the saffron organisation arresting 50 of its activists and issuing arrest warrants against 300 members of the outfit. The VHP had announced that the yatra, starting from Ayodhya, will cover six districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Faizabad, Basti, Barabanki, Gonda, Bahraich and Ambedkar Nagar. The yatra has been banned by the Uttar Pradesh government over possible communal flare-up.

LEH: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is likely to press Beijing to allow the annual Kailash Mansarovar yatra through the shorter Leh route rather than the current Kaliganga route, during his China visit starting June 22. This was disclosed by deputy prime minister L K Advani at the Sindhu darshan festival here on Sunday. The matter of a shorter Kailash pilgrimage route was earlier taken up by defence minister George Fernandes when he visited China last month. The Chinese Premier did not give an assurance but, at the same time, did not decline the proposal either, which is why Mr Advani has now requested the Prime Minister to take the matter forward by bringing it up again with his Chinese counterpart.

NEW DELHI: In the eye of a storm ever since he defied the high command, Congress MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Tuesday claimed the party has given the "go-ahead" to him to continue with his tour of Telangana region and that all issues have been sorted out. After meeting Law Minister Veerappa Moily, the 37-year-old MP from Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh, said he would continue with his yatra. Jaganmohan said he had told Moily that the yatra was apolitical and aimed at visiting the families of those who had died of shock or had allegedly committed suicide after hearing the news of his father Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's death.